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Before he reached the age of 30, Lincoln suffered a nervous breakdown. He broke off his engagement to future wife Mary Todd, took to his bed and sank into a deep, debilitating depression. But caring about others is what eventually brought him out. By helping a friend through a similarly tough time of personal issues and marriage doubts, he found the strength to rally. He stayed in the game by shifting his focus from his own troubles to someone else’s. This lesson gave him the power to stay true to the bigger cause of saving a country from its darkest moment, even when his personal life was in shambles. Can you help someone else reach his or her goals?

Be Grateful
The country is splitting apart. Death threats are numbering in the dozens. His wife is suffering from mental illness. What does President Lincoln do? He creates Thanksgiving Day. He creates a way for the entire country to give thanks for their good fortune. He knew that despite all that looked bleak, staying focused on positive ideals would be the only way to survive these troubles. He was always thankful for life and its opportunities. When you get discouraged, what should you be focusing on instead?

Excellent article..I believe that for those that have truly studied Lincoln, you would know that religion was a cornerstone of his character, however, having not studies him myself, I enjoyed just reading about the struggles that he dealt with that we all struggle with regardless of our religious affiliations or lack thereof. This is certainly an article that speaks to you about pushing past your difficulties, weight related or otherwise! Thanks for this, I will print it for future reading
- 10/27/2010 2:25:58 PM

You nailed it, ETHNOSTUDENT--Lincoln would be appalled. To talk about Lincoln and leave out his faith is like talking about a whole different person than who Lincoln was. He never seemed to have any difficulty giving his thanks to God, including the establishment of Thanksgiving as a national holiday just for that purpose. How has this nation sunk so low?
- 10/7/2010 9:04:02 AM

I highly recommend reading "Lincoln's Melancholy: How depression challenged a president and fueled his greatness" by Joshua Wolf Shenk. Based on detailed research, Shenk shows how Lincoln suffered from chronic depression, and ultimately chose to consciously shift his goal away from personal contentment (which he realized he could not attain) and toward universal justice. Compelling and readable, it showed me that Lincoln was even more extraordinary than I knew.
- 8/23/2010 5:11:08 PM

This article reminds us once again that no matter how bad things seem in our lives, someone has always had worse. It is good to also be reminded that we should never give up and let setbacks convince us to give up our dreams.
- 7/28/2010 7:39:36 PM

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